Demonstealer – The Holocene Termination
Release Date: 3rd December 2021
Label: Demonstealer Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Thrash, Death Metal.
FFO: Demonic Resurrection, Behemoth, Goatwhore.
Review By: Paul Cairney
If the calibre of an artist is judged by the standard of musician they get to appear on their songs is anything to go by, then Sahil Makhija has one hell of a reputation!
Indeed, it is fair to say that Makhija, better known as Demonstealer (also the name of his ‘band’, deserves all the recognition he gets. He is, without a shadow of doubt, the most important person in the Indian metal scene. Starting record labels is one thing, as is creating metal festivals, but when you also support this with high quality metal, you know he is something special.
The Holocene Termination is the second EP in two years, following up the ‘And this too Shall Pass’ EP in 2020, and it features a laudable who’s who of the extreme metal scene. Obviously, Demonstealer himself features on each of the four tracks, but the musicianship is made up by the likes of Eugene Ryabchenko and Veronica Bordacchini from Fleshgod Apocalypse, Anton Zhikharev of Gorgasm, Simon Schilling of Marduk, Robin Stone from The Amenta to name but a few, and it must have been a nice change for Jeff Hughell, of Six Feet Under fame, to appear on a record with somebody who can actually deliver a high standard of vocal performance!
Being an EP, it is rather disappointingly short, 4 tracks in 20 minutes or so, so it fairly flies along. Crushingly heavy, there are parts of this EP that genuinely rattle your skull, threatening to empty the dribbling remnants of your brain through your metal addled ears! The 4 tracks have enough variety, including semi operatic segments by the superb Bordacchini, to make you want a full album as soon as possible.
The Holocene Termination is a fine slab of blackened Metal, with both thrash and death elements throughout. It is utterly worth your time and effort to seek this out and enjoy the supreme talent of a genuine Metal God!
(4 / 5)
